Where to start?
 

Okay, so, i'm fairly new to Tokusatsu in general, getting into it when I got sick of hearing about Godzilla, but still wanting a fix of cheesy Japanese suitmation, and i'm already decently familiar with Ultraman and Super Sentai, but I know almost nothing about Kamen Rider. So, what would be a good series to introduce somebody to Kamen Rider? Like, which series best explains what exactly a rider is? I've done some research, and I guess a lot of people point to Kabuto as being one of the best Rider series, but I read a plot synopsis and it seemed like something that would be more rewarding to somebody who is already familiar with Kamen Rider in general. I've also seen a lot of "just pick one that looks cool and you want to see in action" type answers, which makes me want to watch Gaim (because everything in it looks awesome) but it also sort of sounds like something that won't explain things too well.

Would it be good to start with an early series? I love old Godzilla movies, and enjoyed what I could find of Himitsu Sentai Goranger. Are there even subs for those? I know Sentai doesn't have a lot of subs for the early stuff, so i'm not sure if it's the same for Rider. Also, sorry if there have been 100 other topics like this, but I can't find any that ask this specific question lol

When I got into Rider last summer, I just went with the current show *which was Wizard* and then I saw what worked, and what didn't work, in that show for me and applied it to other series.

So starting with Gaim is good because it's a great show, but also if you tell us what you liked and didn't like about it, we could probably recommend more series that will satisfy your needs.

I'd say start with W. It has a fantastic balance of drama, humor, dark/mature themes, and has a bit of an old school feel to it.

W and OOO are good intro series, but Gaim is ongoing.

Kamen Rider Fourze. It has heart, it has characters, it has humor, it has Virgo. What more do you need?!

I was in the same boat a couple months ago. Knew about SS and watched a handful of that but wasn't familiar with KR. The fine peeps on here recommended to start with W, don't regret it at all. Loved it!

If you want a complete series, start with OOO. It doesn't have the best first half in the world, but unlike a lot of Rider shows, the second Rider saves the show and pushes it towards a glorious climax.

It also seems like you have a taste for older shows. In which case, I'd recommend the original Kamen Rider. Its subs are being done by KitSubs, and they haven't finished yet as far as I know, but they've done quite a lot of episodes at this point. Also, Kamen Rider Black is an excellent entry to the franchise.

If I'm not mistaken every Kamen Rider series is subbed.

Now I would recommend OOO as seeing some of those episode is what got me into this whole Rider universe stuff. Now every series takes things differently, unlike most Sentai's.

If you had to watch one of the newer ones, watch Gaim or OOO. They are both fantastic and have pretty good plots. They both have thier own world and characters so you don't have to get lost in some of the Foundation X stuff W provides.